EXCLUSIVE: Ex-The Smiths frontman Morrissey was delayed in IrelandHe allegedly demanded to be let off the plane and laughed at the crewAn eyewitness described his behavior as ‘really annoying and hateful’
Controversial singer Morrissey lived up to his Big Mouth Strikes Again classic, demanding to be let off a plane if it was diverted by bad weather.
Morrissey, 63, who had a string of hits in the 1980s as frontman of British band The Smiths, was caught in chaos on Monday night after bad weather temporarily closed Dublin airport.
Severe thunderstorms caused his flight from London Heathrow to the Irish capital to be diverted to Shannon on Ireland’s west coast, where he sat on the tarmac for nearly two hours until the weather cleared.
But once on the runway, witnesses said Morrissey demanded to speak to the captain and asked to be ‘let off’ the Airbus A320 because he didn’t want to ‘hang in the air’. [a] coffin for hours.
Video provided to MailOnline shows him standing at the front of the plane, in a blue suit, talking to a member of the cabin crew who tells him, “We need to put the paperwork in the computer, open the door close and then we go. ‘.
Morrissey (far left) was described by eyewitnesses as “disrespectful” and “rude” to cabin crew. Morrissey (pictured in 2019) had a string of hits in the 1980s as the frontman of British band The Smiths
In another clip, Morrissey, who was in the business class section, is slowly applauded as the captain apologizes for the delay – and with his tongue firmly in cheek, thanks the singer for the applause.
He says, “Thank you for your patience and also for your applause, we really appreciate it up front here. We are doing everything we can to get the plane back to Dublin as quickly as possible.’
Once the announcement ends, Morrissey can be seen clapping again and saying to the crew, “What?” What? This means nothing.’
In a subsequent video, where the pilot briefs passengers about weather conditions in Dublin prior to landing, Morrissey is again seen and heard clapping the announcement.
The captain adds: ‘I say thank you again for your patience, at the end of the flight I will be at the front of the plane, if you have any questions or comments I will be happy to answer them.
‘Please don’t take it out on our dear crew, we’re doing everything we can, as I’ve said so many times, to get you to Dublin as soon as possible. Thanks again for your patience.’
An eyewitness said: ‘I didn’t realize it was Morrissey at first until someone told me and then I recognized him. He lazily clapped the hands of the pilot and crew and was really disrespectful to all of them.
“He looked like he’d been drinking and he sat in the front of business class asking for gin and tonics all the time.
‘The pilot announced that we had to go to Shannon due to thunderstorms in Dublin and that we would have to be on the ground for at least two hours before taking off again.
“Morrissey was really obnoxious and spiteful, he said he wanted to get off in Shannon because he didn’t want to be in a flying box, but the crew wouldn’t let him.
“He stood in the front for a while talking to the captain who calmly tried to explain to him that there was nothing that could be done and that we would have to wait for the weather to clear up.
Every time the captain made an announcement, Morrissey just started booing and slowly clapping his hand. I thought it was really rude and rude of him.’
Flight tracking apps show the flight, BA0824, taking off from Heathrow and then landing in Shannon at 8:07pm, after being diverted due to weather.
At 9:37 pm he took off before landing in Dublin 35 minutes later at 10:15 am, two hours and twenty minutes behind schedule, where he exited the flight without further incident or police and security.
Morrissey, 63, was thrown into chaos on Monday after Dublin airport was temporarily closed due to bad weather. Passengers filmed the star’s interactions with cabin crew as he sat at the front of business class. A member of the cabin crew speaks with Morrissey, left, who passengers say was ‘obnoxious and hateful’
Morrissey has been a controversial figure throughout his long career, speaking out on a wide variety of topics, including animal rights, veganism, royalty and politics.
In 2020, he was criticized for appearing on an episode of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon wearing a For Britain badge – a far-right political party that even Nigel Farage has criticized as being composed of ‘Nazis and racists’.
On the day of the coronation, he posted on his official website, Morrissey Central, a photo of King Charles wearing a crown and a plaster on his mouth and a caption next to it: “What is a fact is not a fact, and what is true, is not true. ‘
In the 1980s, Morrissey had a string of hits with The Smiths, including The Boy With The Thorn in His Side, Everyday is Like Sunday and Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
He has since gone solo and built a successful career and holds an Ivor Novello award for outstanding contribution to British music.
He will be touring Europe later this year and also has two major UK shows in Leeds and London and is working on a new album called Without Music The World Dies.
MailOnline was unable to contact Morrissey or his agent, but in a statement BA said: ‘We are sorry for the delay to our customers’ travel due to adverse weather conditions in Dublin.
‘Our teams looked after our customers before moving on to Dublin.’
